Patches & Identity

Term	Meaning
Colors	A club’s insignia worn on the back of the cutoff vest; the club’s property and its most sacred object.
Cut / Cutoff	The sleeveless denim or leather vest that carries the colors.
Three-piece patch	Top rocker (club name), center patch (logo), bottom rocker (territory).
Bottom rocker	The lower patch naming the territory claimed; claiming one a rival holds is an act of war.
1% / one-percenter	The diamond patch and identity adopted from the “99% of motorcyclists are law-abiding” claim; a self-declared outlaw.
Death Head	The Hells Angels’ winged-skull center patch.
Charlie	The Outlaws’ skull-and-crossed-pistons emblem.
Fat Mexican	The Bandidos’ emblem — a sombrero-wearing bandit with pistol and machete.
Flash / In Memory patch	Small added patches recording rank, dead brothers, or earned distinctions.

Rank & Structure

Term	Meaning
Hangaround	An approved associate on the edge of the club, observed but unproven.
Prospect	A probationary member doing menial service to earn full colors; “the property of the club.”
Striker	Another term for a prospect on some clubs’ ladder — a probationary member “striking” for his patch, and often the one sent to do the club’s dirty work.
Full-patch / Patched member	A voted-in member with full colors and a vote.
President · VP · Secretary-Treasurer	Elected chapter officers running business, money and records.
Sergeant-at-arms	The chapter’s enforcer — discipline, security and weapons.
Road captain	Plans and leads club runs.
Nomad	A member or chapter tied to no single territory; often a club’s elite or muscle.
Mother chapter	The founding or dominant charter that sets the tone for the club (e.g. Oakland for the Angels).
Church	The mandatory weekly chapter meeting where business and discipline are handled.

The Network & the Codes

Term	Meaning
Puppet / Support club	A smaller club serving a dominant one — doing front-line crime and pushing money up the chain.
81	Code for Hells Angels: H (8th letter) + A (1st). Seen on “Support 81” gear.
Support gear	Shirts, stickers and patches that raise money and advertise a club’s territory.
Patch over	When a club absorbs another, replacing its colors with its own (e.g. Angels patching over Montreal’s Popeyes, 1977).
Red and White	Shorthand for the Hells Angels, from their colors.
Green Nation	Shorthand for the Vagos, from their green-and-gold colors.
Filthy Few	An elite Hells Angels designation; alleged by police to mark those who have killed for the club (disputed).
ADIOS	Outlaws motto — “Angels Die In Outlaw States.”

Discipline, Life & the Street

Term	Meaning
Out in good standings	Leaving the club with its blessing.
Out in bad standings / Out bad	Expelled in disgrace — stripped of colors, sometimes marked for violence; tattoos may be forcibly removed.
Ol’ lady	A member’s steady partner — under his protection, no standing in the club.
Run	An organized club ride, often mandatory.
Citizen	A non-member of the outlaw world; an ordinary person.
Rat / Snitch	An informant — the worst thing a member can be called, and a death-sentence accusation.
Agent / Police agent	A member secretly cooperating with police (e.g. Dany Kane), distinct from an undercover officer.
No Surrender Crew	The nickname of the Bandidos’ Toronto chapter, destroyed in the Shedden massacre.

These terms appear throughout the Clubs, Members and Wars pages. Definitions are drawn from the insider and investigative sources; usage varies between clubs and countries.